Archive for the ‘Outdoor Propane Deep Fryer’ Category

Tailgating season is about to go into full swing. Baseball season is winding down. Racing season is over the hump. Concert season is in full tilt. And the gridiron is about to heat up.

For those of us that are seasoned warriors of the blacktop party, we know the drill. For the newbies, crack your knuckles, grease those joints. It’s time to get cracking.

It is always nice to have a crew. Having more people to do stuff, help out and bring food and party goods is great. But that also means being more elaborate, having more food, more beverages, more stuff. More stuff means bigger and better means of cooking for the masses. That means not just the little grill that could. That little guy is for you and your partner or your best bud. You start getting into numbers and you need bigger and better. Not just grills either. Now is when you can get more creative. Get a stock pot and outdoor propane cooker. Make a big pot of chili. Steam lobsters and clams. You can even deep fry a turkey for those, on or close to, Thanksgiving Day games.

If you really have a big crew, you may even want to upgrade from a conventional turkey fryer to a safer fryer, like an FF2 Super by R & V Works. This is a 6 gal. deep fryer that you can deep fry just about anything in, including a 15 to 17 pound turkey. It’s safer for frying & it’s mobile. It has a rolling caddy so you can easily move it to where ever on the black top you want it. After cooking you can just leave the fryer cool while your in watching the game, with out the danger of someone bumping into it and knocking it over. After the game, just open the drain valve, attach a drain hose for convenience, and drain your frying oil right back into the original containers. The cooking compartment separates from the caddy for ease of transportation if you are short on height space. Easier use and clean up, means more time to hang with your friends and enjoy the game.

Having a larger fryer like this can add so much more depth to your tailgate menu. Now you can free up the stock pot and patio stove for corn on the cob and potatoes, or Philly Cheese steak, while deep frying French fries, or Buffalo wings in your Cajun Fryer. It doesn’t just have to be frozen burger patties or hot dogs on a rinky dink table top grill anymore. Let’s fire up this parking lot party and jam tailgating season into full gear!!

The Cajun Express Smoker by R & V Works is a bbq smoker that has a special enhanced sealed system that allows you to smoke foods at an astronomical rate. Imagine coming home from working an 8 hour day and throwing a rack of ribs into the Cajun Express Smoker. The ribs are done in about an hour. (Pre-heating takes about 10-15 mins.) That is enough time to decompress and relax after work and be ready to sit and enjoy a beautifully smoked meal with your family.

Perfect for limited time periods, like catering, vending and tailgating. Obviously, when catering you want to have all of your food done on time. You don’t want to start smoking food the night before and reheat it. When vending at a Farmer’s Market or festival, time is limited also. This smoker smokes your food in about half the time it would take a traditional smoker to smoke. Who wants to leave a smoker going in the parking lot during the game, because the food wasn’t done yet or the wood is still burning. The Cajun Express is perfect for setting up in the stadium parking lot. Gives you the freedom to use your grill other things while the smoker does it’s thing. The best of both worlds for the tailgating palette. The Cajun Express Smoker runs on propane. So no worries about still burning wood. Just shut off your LP tanks while you eat. The unit is cooled off and ready to pack up before you enter the field for the game!

Most smokers cook meat with very low temperatures and a lot of wood. It makes great food but can take very long periods of time. The Cajun Express Smoker is the fastest smoker in the bayou! Cook baby back ribs in only 35 to 40 minutes, or an entire brisket in two hours. Smoke a 15 lb. turkey in 1 hour. This amazing smoker works off of a patented smoking process that utilizes a pressure/vacuum regulator. This revolutionizes cooking times. There is a rubber seal on the latched door that provides an air tight cooking chamber. The only place for air to escape is through a 1″ pipe at the rear of the smoker. This 1″ pipe actually leads to a tank that you can fill with various liquids, and this creates a liquid pressure regulator. When you light the burner, it heats the air, and heated air expands. This causes pressure. The pressure then builds, eventually overcoming the resistance from the liquid in the tank, causing the liquid to “perk”. The result here is that the meat is compressed by pressure, then the perk causes a momentary vacuum, which uncompresses the meat, essentially, pulling the meat apart. The unit will perk about 20 times per minute. In the end, the meat you are cooking is being processed with pressure. Higher temps. are involved which results in shorter cooking periods. You still get great results of smokey, flavorful, yet moist and tender meat.

The liquid that you use in the tank will add flavor to your meats. If you add apple juice or bourbon, your meats will take on a hint of that flavoring along with the smoke from your wood chips.

We recommend using wood chip instead of chunks. The chunks can produce too strong of flavor. From past experience may I also suggest not using pellets or small wood chip/dust. These items actually ignite and can cause internal fire that may damage your heat seal. For standard cooking of say about 2 hours, you want to fill your wood chip tray about 1/2 full. You can also soak your chips if you like, say in bourbon, apple juice, or even wine.Therefore adding more flavor than just your smoke and liquid from your tank.

The Cajun Express Smoker now comes in 3 convenient sizes. The original that easily fits 4 racks of ribs, 2 trimmed 9 lb. briskets, 3-3lb chickens or 1-15 lb. turkey. There is also a 6 rib smoker and a 9 rib smoker. There is a perfect size for the backyard BBQ aficionado, one for a decent sized tailgate party, and even one for large catering jobs or food vending. Comes with castors for ease of mobility.

If you like smoked foods but don’t have the time for the low and slow process, consider a Cajun Express Smoker!

Chowder is a thick rich soup. Sometimes thickened by milk or cream or by crushed up crackers like “Oysterettes’. The name chowder is possibly derived from the French word “chaudiere” meaning stew pot or the type of pot that this concoction was cooked in. Nowadays you can cook chowder right on your stove top in a large soup pan. Better yet, how about right on the beach with your freshly caught clams or cold weather tailgating in the stadium parking lot using a traditional turkey fryer kit or stock pot and outdoor propane cooker?

Chowder, or chowda, in common New England terminology, usually contains potatoes and onions, sometimes celery and bacon or salt pork. The main ingredient is typically clams, fish or corn.

There have been many variations of clam chowda over the years. The main ingredients like the quahogs or chowder clams always the constant. Smaller clams are easier to eat raw on the half shell or steamed. The larger quahogs or chowder clams are chewy and tough. It is easier to chop them up and put them in soups or cakes.

New England Clam Chowda, probably the most well known, a creamy thick soup of clams, potatoes, onions, milk or cream, and sometimes celery, bacon, or salt pork. Almost always served with saltine type crackers or oyster crackers to crush up in the soup to make it even thicker.

There is a lesser known version of chowder that probably originated in coastal New England. This version is clear broth made of clam juice. The ingredients also include quahogs, potatoes, onions, bacon and sometimes celery. This version has spread from Rhode Island (a possible location of origin), all the way down the coastal eastern seaboard, with versions popping up in Delaware, and the Outer Banks of North Carolina, regions where the hard shell bi-vavle is readily available. Though a spicy version is even found as far south as Florida.

Manhattan style Clam Chowder is the bane of New England apparently. “Manhattan” clam chowder was named due to New Englanders being offended by Rhode Island’s Portuguese immigrants inspired version of their traditional chowda. Portuguese cuisine had many traditional stews based with tomatoes. Instead of adding cream to the clear broth, they added tomatoes instead. Scornful New Englanders called this modified version “New York” clam chowder because, in their view, calling someone a New Yorker was, and probably still is, a major insult. Little did they know how popular the tomato based version would become. Long Island and Jersey chowders typically contain tomato. The people of Maine were so abhorred by this tomatoey version, that their legislature actually passed a bill in 1939, making tomatoes in clam chowder illegal.

Back to the clear broth, that goes by many names: Rhode Island Clam Chowder, Block Island, Delaware, Hatteras, Core Sound and Bogue Sound chowders. I came across a version through the NC Cooperative Extension that I elaborated upon.

If your clams are fresh caught, it is always a good idea to purge them first. This will help to cut down on sandy grit. Get some fresh clean Sound or Bay water and place preferably rinsed clams in the fresh water…24 hours is good. If you can purge them more than once all the better.

Ingredients:

Clams and juice (the more the better) 1 qt or more. 30 chowders or more.

3 large onions

6 slices bacon

3 lbs. Potatoes

3 ribs celery

Pepper to taste

Shuck the clams and put the meat and juice in a bowl.

If you are dealing with very large chowders with large muscles or don’t have a clam knife, try freezing the clams. When ready to open clams, run warm water over the clam and take a paring knife and remove clam from shell. Place frozen clams and frozen juice in a bowl. When all clams are removed from shells place clams on chopping board and dice with a large knife or meat cleaver, put diced clams and juice back in a bowl and let thaw. This will allow the sand and grit to settle to the bottom of the bowl resulting in less grit in the chowder. Dice the potatoes, celery, onions, and bacon. In large stock pot or cast iron Dutch oven, place the clams, onions, bacon and celery and simmer until the onions are tender. Add in the clam juice being careful not to put in the contents that have settled in the bottom of the bowl. Add potatoes that have been peeled and diced. Add water until desired salty taste is achieved (about 3 cups). Then black pepper to desired taste.

Whatever your preference may be, get out there and dig some clams! Who wants Chowda??

I’ve discussed customer service before. It is a make or break deal in our struggling economy.

I have an ongoing, almost personal, relationship with one of my suppliers, R & V Works. They are the manufacturer of The Cajun Fryer. I speak with the girls in the office almost daily. I know other sales people that distribute for the company. I speak with the owner, Robert Myers, on occasion and have even spoken with the the guys that build the outdoor propane deep fryers that I distribute for the company. It’s like one big happy family.

Robert’s company is based on old school, good old fashioned American know how, hard work, and customer service. They go out and show their product while tailgating at NASCAR races. They go to big outdoor stores and set up out front and deep fry fish for the patrons walking through the door. They strive to better their product constantly. Robert is always designing new items for sale, like The Smokin’ Cajun Grill & The Cajun Express Smoker.

This company will bend over backward to make sure the customer is happy. I recently had a customer that had an issue with a unit that just wasn’t quite right. Hey, it happens sometimes. One of the girls from the office was actually going camping in the general area that the original unit was sent. She brought a brand new unit with her, and had the gentleman meet her at her campsite, and they exchanged the original unit for a new unit. NOW, THAT’S CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!!

This is exactly the way I like to run my company and this is why I love working with these people. Life is too short to not be hands on, be nice to your customers and be grateful to them for giving you an order in the first place. If it wasn’t for the customer, you would not have a business. Word of mouth is a wonderful thing too. If your customer is satisfied, you may get an order from their friends or relatives. You may even get repeat customers. I actually have a few customers that I now converse with by email like, pen pals.

Enjoy life! Be happy! Leave your baggage home! Treat your customers with respect and honesty! Most of all…be nice. Nobody likes a Gloomy Gus. Hey, maybe your customer is just having a bad day. They may have had an attitude before they attempted calling you. Try to turn that frown upside down. It doesn’t always work, but I had an old boss, many years ago, that told me, the nastier a customer gets, the nicer you should be, without the sarcasm, please!!. Sometimes it helps, sometimes not. But, in the long run, they may actually remember that they were having a bad day, and you still treated them with respect. That means the world to some people. Do unto others…enough said!

Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama is the oldest annual Carnival celebration in America, having begun in 1703. That is 15 years before New Orleans was founded in 1718. From Mobile, being the first capital of French Louisiana in 1702, the festival began in North America as a French Catholic tradition.

Mardi Gras season or Carnival season which traditionally starts at Epiphany (Jan 6 or the Twelfth night) and comes to a raging head the day before Ash Wednesday, at midnight on Mardi Gras, French for “Fat Tuesday” or Shrove Tuesday. Many places don’t celebrate for months of carnival. Many start a week or two before, with most places celebrating 3-4 days before.

Mardi Gras is far from being a French or French American celebration. It is celebrated all over the world by my people of the Catholic/Christian faith. This tradition, also known as Shrovetide in the UK & Ireland, is for feasting and overindulgence, before the Lenten season, which begins Ash Wednesday. A time to eat rich, fatty foods and drink too excess before the fasting of Lent begins. In the Netherlands pre-Lenten celebration is Carnaval. Carnaval translated from Latin, or “Carne Vale”, means “Goodbye to the meat”.

Many Fat Tuesday foods in America, now associated with Mardi Gras, do come from Creole and Cajun ancestry. Both groups now having strong ties to Louisiana and the previously French occupied southern regions of the United States. Creole being of mixed ethnicity, with strong French and Spanish influence, Cajun being more largely tied to French speaking Acadians who came from the now Coastal Canadian Maritimes. One of the most popular American dishes served during Mardi Gras tends to be Jambalaya. This is a rice, vegetable and meat dish. Traditionally the ingredients for Jambalaya were gathered by people in in festive clothing and masks, from knocking on community doors. Whatever ingredients were acquired were brought together in a large cast iron pot and cooked until done. Later the whole community would come together and partake in the dish. Many other traditional Cajun and Creole dishes are also served, like gumbo, etouffee, and crawfish boils. But again, it is a time of indulgence. There are also plenty of fried foods cooked in outdoor propane deep fryers, turkey fryers and Cajun Fryers. Beer and other alcohols find their way into the mix.

Overindulgence, high cholesterol and hangovers abound! Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we fast!!! Happy Fat Tuesday all!

Free shipping is a loaded phrase. 9 times out of 10 shipping is never really free. The product has already been marked up to include an amount sufficient to cover the costs of shipping. Many people see the words free shipping and will look no further. Honestly if they did looked a bit further, they may actually pay shipping to a company and actually pay LESS than if they go with a company that claims free shipping.

When a company marks up a product to cover shipping fees it is technically a crap shoot. The company needs to more or less pick a price that will cover shipping all over. Shipping in the same town for instance will be exactly the same as say from Florida to Alaska. Convenient for the long distance customer, not fair to the in town customer, and a crap shoot for the business.

Shipping companies actually don’t work that way. Distance is a major factor when it comes to pricing of shipping, as well as weight, over all size, even odd shaped products come into play. I have customers that find great pricing on the deep fryers that I sell. But for them to expect that a 300 lb. outdoor propane deep fryer‘s great price includes shipping is just wrong. An item like this will ship freight. It does not go into a typical brown, yellow, or white truck that you see every day. It ships in a large cargo truck or even a tractor trailer. Diesel prices are quite high right now. There is usually a fuel surcharge on almost anything that gets shipped nowadays. Besides, a 300lb. grill or deep fryer that ships across one state compared to the shipping price of a unit that ships across 50 states is quite a major difference.

So anyway, keep this thought in mind when making a purchase on line. Just because someone says free shipping, it doesn’t mean that you are getting the best deal. Take a little more time and get the best deal, not just because it says it’s FREE>

Tailgating is an art. It can be low key, it can be fancy and over the top. But simple or fancy we are all looking for anything to make this art run as smoothly & easily as possible. This is an homage to all those dedicated fans out there. Whether you’re a race fan, college team fan, pro team fan or you’re just looking for a nice day at the beach. We salute you! So pop the tailgate on the back of your truck and lets get cooking!

The history of tailgating goes all the way back to Ancient Rome. Food and wine were sold outside of the Colosseum for gladiator events and chariot races. There was also food & drink served at jousting tournaments in medieval Europe.
Tailgating has now become an American phenomenon tracing it’s roots back to The Battle of Bull Run in1861 where some Union supporters brought picnic baskets out to watch the first battle of the Civil War. The first college football game ever played in America was also host to tailgating with Rutgers & Princeton playing against each other while people grilled fish & wild game. When Harvard & Yale played against each other, the walk from the train to the field was so long, the people brought picnic lunches with them. Now in the 21st century, tailgating is in full swing. More than 20 million Americans tailgate every year. Some stadiums and race tracks even have a special areas just for tailgaters.

The Weather Channel has recently been focusing on many different tailgating groups. They actually had one program totally devoted to what college football teams that they thought had the best set of tailgaters. There were even some tailgaters that come by boat as their stadium is located right on the water. They tie all of the boats together and just start tailgating!!

The Weather Channel also likes to focus on food choices of tailgaters. My favorites are always the groups that prefer to “eat the competition”. In other words, say the team is playing against Baltimore…they make crab cakes. If they play against a New England team they make lobster rolls or have a New England lobster boil that they steamed in their turkey fryer. Therefore essentially eating the competition before the game even starts.

Tailgating is not just confined to the college or pro football stadium parking lot. It can be a day at the beach or an afternoon in the park. Baseball fans, horse racing fans & concert goers are all potential tailgaters. The Kentucky Derby has turned into a major tailgating venue with pomp & circumstance, seer sucker suits & big hats. And then, there were The Parrotheads. Jimmy Buffett fans have more generators to power blenders than any other tailgaters I know. And lest we not forget The Grateful Dead fans that not only went to one concert, but followed The Dead around the country for a whole tour. I bet there were some very interesting food choices along the road when it came to months of traveling.

That being said, tailgating is obviously not confined to just a single event or day. Some sports fans just come to watch the game and sometimes leave early to beat the traffic if the score is not going their way. Race fans are devotees. They come and stay for days, sometimes even weeks during Speed Week. That’s a lot of food to plan for and race fans are serious about their food. This is not just NASCAR fans either. There are lots of drag racing & road course fans out there. Many of these venues are weekend long events. Some people show up on Thursday & don’t leave until Monday morning after breakfast, which is sometimes the last great tailgate. All of the leftovers and the last of the eggs and bacon come out and are still made into a culinary masterpiece.

The perfect piece of equipment, your latest perfected recipe, the coolest new game can set you apart from the rest of the lot. So many set ups and different things to cook. For some people the food is as important as the game. Some people don’t even go in to watch the event. They stay outside for the party and watch the game on TV. Any good tailgate is not just burgers and dogs. Brats, ribs, chili, steak, deep fried turkey, pork loin, beer can chicken are many favorites. The gadgets that go along with all that food are phenomenal too. Not just grills. Coolers, blenders, kegorators, deep fryers, crock-pots, BBQ smokers, even woks. Tents, couches, easy chairs, lawn games are all common place at a tailgate. There are even highly elaborate homemade & professionally made tailgate trailers with cooking equipment, TV’s & sound systems included.

Part of the art of a good tailgate party comes from proper planning and knowing your grill, BBQ smoker, and cooking equipment. Knowing how many people your cooking for is helpful in pre planning your shopping list(and a little extra never hurts.) Get to know your grill and cooking equipment. Use it at home. Get used to your hot spots and cooking zones. Don’t try out a deep fryer for the first time at the track! When you transport your grill, if you don’t have an enclosed trailer to put it in, put it right behind the cab of your truck with the hinged side of the lid to the backside of the cab. Tie it securely! If you loose your lid, your dead in the water.

Some important things to remember about tailgating is having the right stuff you need to make your life easier. Of course you don’t always need everything but if you can get yourself a big plastic bin and fill it with some of these items you’ll be ready to roll at a moments notice. Just always remember to replenish.

A jug of water is nice to have to clean your hands with. (Soap is good too.) Foil pans are handy for all sorts of things:cooking, storing, serving & leftovers. Whatever your cooking apparatus, it never hurts to have extra fuel. . . propane, charcoal, wood chips. A fire extinguisher is a great thing to bring along & a squirt bottle for small flare ups. Cutting boards are good, but paper plates make nice clean cutting surfaces. Condiments, olive oil, non-stick cooking spray, onions & garlic are necessity. A table to cut up stuff on and set the food on when its done is always a nice option. A fold up chair or two is great to have too when your taking a break from cooking or after the game when your waiting for the parking lot to clear out a little. Extra beer is always plus. . . it’s a great bartering tool if you forgot something at home. ALWAYS make sure you have a good cooler & PLENTY of ice! Lastly. . . NEVER leave your grill or fryer unattended besides the obvious safety reasons your food can get ruined in a heartbeat! PS…use sober, common sense while cooking.

So, yes, tailgating is an art. It doesn’t matter who you’re routing for either. A great tailgate can bring everyone together. But tailgating is still about one upping your neighbor. (Some people even have cooking competitions right at the venue they are at. I was at a weekend long drag racing competition and a whole group of people came just to have a rib cooking competition). It’s never about putting anyone down. It’s the pride of knowing you’re better. From simple to elaborate, regional favorites like Philly Cheese Steak & Buffalo wings, or just showing off, like grilled tequila & chipotle rubbed butterflied leg of lamb. Deep frying turkey for the Thanksgiving Day game and bringing all of the fixings. . From your tailgate bed or your buddy’s RV. Breakfast to dessert with appetizers & dinner in between, beer to blender drinks. Tailgating is about fun times and making memories. So have fun, enjoy yourself & eat hearty!

A question has come through from a reader that should be addressed. Gloria wanted to know how many turkeys she could cook in her frying oil without changing the oil.

If you are deep frying in one cooking session, you can cook as much, or as many items, turkeys, fries, or wings as you want. As long as you are draining everything properly and not just removing he food and dumping it in a food tray…you should have enough oil to get you through that session without having to add more. I had one person tell me that they were vending French fries and going through gallons and gallons of oil at every venue. They were not taking the time to tap the fryer baskets together and drain for a few seconds to return excess oil back into the fryer compartment. It sounded like a very expensive project with not much in pocket return. I am hoping that they took my advice and started trying to save the excess that they were normally just throwing into a waiting hopper.

If you are speaking of more than one day, when your turkey fryer , or other outdoor propane deep fryer, is not in use, filter the cooled oil into storage containers. I use a strainer, funnel, and coffee filters. Tightly seal the containers. Store in a cool and preferably darkened space, like a closet. Just make sure the oil reaches proper temps. when starting up again.

You don’t have to strain the oil of debris after every use but it is suggested to do so to keep the oil clean and longer lasting. Besides, the debris is what will burn and give the oil an acrid flavoring.

As long as your oil does not take on a strong odor, an off coloring, or a burnt flavor you can continue using the oil.

Keep in mind that oil does degrade after every use. The smoke point will get lower and lower after every use. When you deep fry you need an oil with a high smoke point because you need to keep that constant high temperature for extended periods of time. When you use it, it oxidizes when in contact with the air. This reduces the content of beneficial fats, so it loses a little of it’s purity with every use. Besides the oil will take on some impurities from the food you are deep frying as well . (Anybody that has ever deep fried fish in oil knows this to be true). The impurities lower the cooking temperature. All in all, it depends on what you cook and how much you cook in that session, as to how much work is left in the oil. Keep an eye on your temps. If you get to a point on say the fourth use of just cooking french fries for dinner (that number is just an example) and you see that your oil is starting to smoke at a lower temp. than it should be, say 300 degrees F, then it is time to get rid of the oil and start fresh. If you cooked 20 turkeys in one day, the second time that you have a major frying session may be your oil’s last use.

So any way,Gloria, in one day, you can deep fry as many turkeys as you want until you are done. Say you are cooking 20 turkeys in one day…just make sure you have some extra frying oil on hand in case you do need to add some to the pot.

When you are getting ready to deep fry a turkey, whether it is Thanksgiving, some other holiday, or just an any day, you want to make sure that you are prepared. There is a little bit more to it than just having a turkey fryer, (stock pot and outdoor propane cooker), frying oil, and a turkey. You need to be physically, mentally, and materially prepared.

First things first. If you have never fried a turkey before, read your manual before you begin. Next, use the fryer before the big day. In fact, use it more than once if you can. Even if you are just boiling water to start, this will help you get used to the nuances of your new outdoor propane deep fryer. This will give a chance to figure out the heat regulator and how to maintain a constant temperature.

When purchasing a turkey for your fryer, you want to make sure that you do not buy too large of a turkey for the size of your stock pot. There may be a suggested guideline in your manual, but here are some suggested sizes:

You want an oil with a high smoke point as you will be keeping your temperature around 350 degrees F for a long period of time. (For info. on smoke points see Frying Oil). Mixing different types of frying oils is not recommended as different oils have different smoke points. Buy what is in your price range but make sure it has a high smoke point.

Decide if you are going to use an injection marinade or rub or both on your bird. There are many recipes out there on the world wide web, but you can always buy a pre-made injection kit, like The Butterball Turkey Seasoning Kit manufactured for Masterbuilt. Inject your thawed bird the night before or early morning. Make sure the turkey is dry of marinade drippings.

Make sure you have enough LP gas. Having a backup propane tank is always a great idea. It is not like it is going to bad, or won’t eventually get used. You do not want to be in the middle of deep frying a turkey and run out of gas.

Get yourself some protective clothing. A pair of good, long, high temperature gloves is recommended. Protective eye wear is an option. Some goggles against spit and splatter is something to keep in mind. Pants, sleeves, and shoes are highly recommended as well.

Get yourself an all purpose fire extinguisher. You never know when you might need one anyway. Hopefully you will never need to use it.

Have a bucket of sand ready to use.Remember: oil & water don’t mix. A hose will make things worse if you have a flare up.

Make sure that your thermometers are working properly.

Be sure that you have a perfect spot to place your fryer. Don’t wait until Thanksgiving Day and find that you have no stable, level surface to cook on. This should be a place well away from any combustible materials, like bushes, but also to include your wooden deck or in your garage. These traditional turkey fryers are meant for outdoors, and not on your patio 3 feet from your house. If it is raining or snowing it is NOT an option to deep fry in your garage. You are only looking for trouble if you go there.

If there is wind on the day that you are frying, position your tank on the upside of the wind. You don’t want the heat from the flames of the jet cooker blowing right at your propane tank.

Make sure that someone is able to keep the kids and the dog occupied. Let them play inside or just well away from the hot cooker.

Being physically prepared is helpful. If you do not think that you are physically capable of slowly and carefully raising and lowering a 15 lb turkey into a vat of hot oil, then get a lift bar. A lift bar can be slid through the grab hook and two people can do the raising and lowering.

Lastly, you want to be mentally prepared. Relax, but take care. Be sober. Use common sense. Don’t let any drunken friends bully you and try to tell you what to do or not to do. In fact, use the common sense to tell them that they should be out playing with the kids and the dog and you’ll call when the foods ready.

What kind of oil should you buy? You want an oil with a high smoke point. That means an oil that is going to hold a constant high temperature with out hitting the point that it starts to smoke and then hit flash point. Refined peanut oil has a high smoke point, 450 degrees F. Some people are allergic to peanut oil, though I heard that the more refined the more hypo-allergenic, but to be on the safe side, if you don’t know for sure, get some other form of vegetable oil. Besides peanut oil can be expensive. Corn oil and high oleic canola oil are more readily available, have a good smoke point, and are less expensive than peanut oil.

How much oil should you use? Measuring the oil is quite simple. Take the completely thawed bird, place it in the stock pot. Fill the pot with water to the fill line. Place the bird in the perforated basket or on the poultry rack that you will be using. Place everything in the pot. Fill your stock pot with water until the bird is covered, plus a LITTLE extra. Remove the turkey and rack or basket. Mark your water line. This is how much oil to use. Dry the pot and basket completely before adding the oil.

Make sure your fryer is sturdy, level ground or concrete, not in your garage or covered wooden deck, away from combustible materials. If windy, place your propane tank upwards of the wind, so that the flame is blowing away from the LP gas.

Make sure your cooker will not be in a walk through area.

Make sure the kids, the dog, and any possibly non-sober guests have somewhere else to play!

While the frying oil is heating up, dry your turkey completely. Please make sure your turkey is properly thawed. Cooking times may vary if your poultry has not been properly thawed. Rule of thumb is to get the bird to room temp. an hour prior to deep frying. Sometimes a cold or frozen spot in a joint or deep in the turkey breast won’t allow that section to cook properly. Besides ice crystals left on the bird can cause a huge boil over and flare up.

Clean and dry poultry inside & out. Remove giblets and neck, and trim away all excess fat and skin.(This stuff makes good gravy stock. Set it to boil, then simmer while the turkey is frying. While the turkey cools, strain the liquid from the giblets, add some water and corn starch. Heat and stir until thickened. Instant turkey gravy.) Make sure opening around the neck cavity is wide and clear. Make a 1-inch cut in the skin at the leg-thigh joints. This allows oil to drain when the turkey is done.

Inject your bird with seasonings if you prefer. Place your turkey in a roasting pan. A trick that I learned from “The BBQ Dr.” is to cover your bird with plastic wrap. This will keep the marinade from splashing back at you. Fill your seasoning injector. Pierce right through the plastic wrap into the turkey. The important thing to remember is to inject the turkey all over. Put a little in each hole. Make sure you distribute the injection evenly so you don’t get pockets of the marinade. Push plunger down slowly while pulling injector out of meat to give even distribution of seasoning. Inject into various points on the breast, thighs, and drumstick. Even do the wings. Flip your bird over, cover with plastic wrap, and inject the bottom side as well. There are portions of the breast that you may have missed by just injecting from the top side. Many people do the injection process the night before or early morning of. Some people like to use rubs as well, but much of the rub will come off during the cooking process, that is why injected seasonings are preferred. When using a dry powder marinade, mix with orange juice instead of water. The acidity in the orange juice enhances the marinade, plus it acts as a meat tenderizer. Wipe off any marinade they may have run with paper towels. You want to make sure that your turkey is nice and dry before lowering it into the hot frying oil.

Place turkey upside down on rack, with legs facing up. Remember, poultry legs facing up. Put your measured frying oil into the pot. Attach thermometer to the top edge, making sure the stem of the thermometer is in the oil at least one inch… very important! When the oil is 350 degrees to 375°F it is time to place the turkey in the pot. Depending on the amount of oil used & weather conditions, it may take from 15 to 25 minutes for the oil to reach 350°F-375°F. You want to start the temp. a little higher than the optimum of 350 because your oil will drop in temp when you add the bird. Attach the grab hook to the top loop of the rack. Wearing protective gloves, very slowly & carefully lower poultry into pot. Almost like steeping a tea bag. The oil will spit and bubble at this point. Take your time until you are able to settle the turkey to the bottom without creating a severe boil over. It may take 60-90 seconds to completely lower poultry into the oil! If you feel more comfortable using two people for this process, get yourself a lift bar that two people can hold at the same time. Also, if you are afraid of a boil over and grease fire, just at the time of insertion, shut off the burner, slowly tea bag your turkey into the oil. When all is settled, relight the burner.

Now monitor your temp. As I said the oil temp. will drop a bit. Get it back to 350. You want to maintain that temp. as close as possible. Control frying temperature by turning the valve on the hose & regulator assembly. Reduce the flame to maintain a constant. PS: After passing 450°F, cooking oil can heat up rapidly to its flashpoint of spontaneous combustion, which is a serious grease fire! Therefore, never leave cooker unattended! Constantly monitor your thermometer. When the bird is done, turn the cooker off at the tank. Leaving pot on cooker, place grab hook through top loop of the rack and very carefully remove rack, with your turkey, from pot. Place rack with poultry on absorbent paper and allow to drain for few minutes, then remove from basket or rack and place on a platter to cool before carving. As I said, now is a great time to thicken the gravy and finish up your side dishes.

One last thing to keep in mind is your propane. Have an extra tank handy just in case. You do not want to run out halfway through a deep frying session.

Have fun, be safe. Use sober, common sense and you will have a Thanksgiving dinner to rival all your past ones.